GEOGRAPHY OF JAPAN
This country is a chain of islands off the eastern coast of Asia.
What is Japan?
These people were Japan’s earliest culture, known for cord-pattern pottery and as hunter-gatherers.
What are the Jomon?
Japan borrowed this belief system and writing system from China.
What is Buddhism (and the writing system)?
This military leader held the real power in feudal Japan while the emperor was mostly symbolic.
What is the shogun?
Highly trained warriors who served the daimyo and did not pay taxes.
What are samurai?
About 75% of Japan’s land is this type of terrain, which greatly limited farming.
What is mountainous?
This culture introduced wet-rice agriculture, bronze, and iron tools to Japan.
What is the Yayoi culture?
Japan sent missions to this Chinese dynasty between 607–839 CE to learn government ideas.
What is the Tang Dynasty?
Powerful landowners who controlled large territories and had their own samurai armies.
What are daimyo?
The strict code of honor followed by samurai (“the way of the warrior”).
What is bushido?
Japan is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it prone to these two natural disasters.
What are earthquakes and tsunamis?
This clan became Japan’s longest-ruling royal family and claimed descent from the sun goddess Amaterasu.
What is the Yamato clan?
This Korean-introduced religion blended with Shinto in Japan.
What is Buddhism?
The exchange of land for loyalty and military service that created feudalism.
What is commendation? (or feudalism / the feudal system)
Ritual suicide performed by a samurai who lost honor.
What is seppuku?
This sea separates Japan from mainland Asia (China and Korea).
What is the Sea of Japan?
Spirits or gods found in nature (trees, rivers, rocks) that are central to Shinto.
What are kami?
Japan created this writing system (hiragana and katakana) to become less dependent on Chinese characters.
What is kana?
The main reason feudalism developed in Japan.
What is a weak central government? (or powerful landowners/military leaders took control)
The “divine wind” typhoon that destroyed the Mongol invasion fleet in 1281.
What is kamikaze?
Because of mountains and limited farmland, most Japanese people settled in these areas.
What are coastal plains / river valleys? (or near the coasts)
Japan’s golden age of culture (794–1185 CE), when the capital was moved to Heian-kyo (Kyoto) and The Tale of Genji was written.
What is the Heian Period?
Prince Shotoku and Emperor Temmu modeled Japan’s government after this country’s centralized system.
What is China?
This 1600 battle led to the victory of Tokugawa Ieyasu and the start of the Tokugawa Shogunate.
What is the Battle of Sekigahara?
Name any three of the seven virtues of bushido.
What are loyalty, honor, courage, rectitude, benevolence, respect, and honesty? (Accept any three)